friends

Who are we and what are our questions about changing schools

I am thinking of what people are talking about in terms of education for this upcoming century. I do agree that it is out of date and that it is not teachers fault, but we do all need to consider the divides.

To quote Suarez-Orozco and Quinn-Hilliard:

"Gardner suggests
that precollegiate education will need to encompass the following skills, abilities, and understandings:
(1) understanding the global system;
(2) the ability to think analytically and creatively within
disciplines;
(3) the ability to tackle problems and issues that do not respect disciplinary boundaries;
(4) knowledge of other cultures and traditions, which should both be an end in itself and a means to interacting civilly and productively with individuals from different cultural backgrounds—both within one’s own society and across the planet; (5) knowledge of and respect for one’s own cultural traditions;
(6) fostering of hybrid or blended identities; and
(7) fostering of tolerance and appreciation across racial, linguistic, national, and cultural boundaries."

This shows idealism on the part of Gardner, but I do take issue with who seems to be able to access this curriculum. I do agree that the topic of globalization is one that is being discussed worldwide on all levels, but I do think we sit in a position of privilege as university students who can read, go to conferences and so on about the subject.

I have many thoughts on how to change schools, and I am in a position to make little changes in my thinking every day by reflecting and acting on those ideas.

you gotta know when to hold them/ know when to fold them

Remember that song?

So instead of being the rain on the pop cultural parade, my strategy with my son is to give wide exposure on media rather than censor what he sees. This seems like a contradiction to our lack of tv. In fact, the thinking behind that was just that the time spent on bad programming (my husband and I, yes, I admit it, watching multiple King of Queens episodes or reality show--not my thing).

I want him to see the wonderful moving films from international sources that clearly present many worldviews. I know even though there is extraordinary diversity within the film festival, there are still intense scrutiny of these films, thus limiting the range of what is represented. We (my husband and I) do think the pleasure we take in viewing films should be shared.

I do think down the line that we should point out some of the mechanics of production as seen in the editing of (Hate) Machine. And we need to get into the concepts and questions of critical media literacy that are linked to on that page of the Media the Matters website.

Additionally, not just issues of transparency and distribution are salient, but perhaps who gets to consume films is a question to pose. For example, who can see a film in a theater? It is absurd to wish that I could see Broken Embraces / Los abrazos rotos by Pedro Almodóvar, the Spanish director. I make meaning in some way from having seen nearly all of his films. Why? That is completely indulgent.

Back to the point about what is worth doing. So I am informed by my experiences with my brothers friends at Hollywood High, the CUNY school in Harlem for acting, and his friends in showbiz. The fact that my brother and friends are in the business so to speak has given me insight into what the young actor/actress, writer, director, or producer goes through to get into the field. A huge sea of disparity there to the beautiful people and the zillions of young wannabes ("throw a stone and you'll hit a writer. . .do me a favor, throw it hard.") in Hollywood. The reality and its effects make for a strange unreality where the tanner, blonder, richer, and younger you are the better (breasts, nails, tans, lawns are fake in that desert climate). . .This makes for strange make-overs on all levels for these people in show business. What D/discourses should I actively critique with my son? It is possible to begin to ask about what position the people who are brown are playing in films, the Spanish speakers, the women, gay people, etc. . . Difference is organized as certain way in general that does not necessarily hold in international, independent, or alternative films.

There are ways to battle through choice encounters with people, materials, ideas, etc. I can pose questions without beating anyone over the head with critical media lit. When I see essentializing and marginalization, I will try to call attention to it, and then exposing my son to a range of multiple languages, differences, etc would be a reasonable approach to this. However, this certainly requires diligence on both ends.

Handy Manny

Here is a brief break down on my dilemma with the show Handy Manny. Flicker, the newest (tool) character on the show, is not pictured here.

Handy Manny is the main character of a television program that inhabits the fictional community of Sheet Rock Hills. Notably, he speaks Spanish during the episodes. In fact, code-switching occurs whether the episode is aired in Spanish, English or Italian. We have contact with all three of these languages in our household, although we are English dominant. This makes the show an "educational" one because we are encouraging the use of Spanish, in particular. There are a few bilingual tools, Felipe, the philips head screwdriver, and Flicker--both speak Spanish. Felipe is bilingual and Flicker is "learning English" but seems to speak mostly Spanish. The latter is a new character and seems to rile some people by his lack of proficiency in English (crazy English only people).

So emergent bilingualism being an area of my studies and my personal life, any show that has the potential to encourage love of Spanish in our English dominant society is good.

But what about the stereotyping? There is a long and quite well-documented history of all of the ways that Hollywood, and animated films and programs, stereotyping according to gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomics, sexual preference, etc. There are countless examples--see that part of Long Tack Sam for an Asian American example, but Latino actors have had a history of being positioned as passionate, theives, etc. So how different is it to be a handyman? Manny is always seen with his baseball hat on and is of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent. There are other characters on the show who are stereotypical. You can meet abuelito, a gardener, or Mr. Kumar an "interesting" Indian man who speaks in spoonerisms, the china shop owner in purple pants. Hmmmmm. Mrs. Portillo, an older "Mexican" lady, calls on Manny for home repairs. She owns a chihuahua named Carlos and a chameleon named Maurice. Mayor Rosa is a Latina. Mr. Chu, the principal of Sheetrock Hills Elementary School, has slightly slanted eyes. How is this good for kids? Damn, I just wish I did not have to critically analyze this show.

The voices of the characters are not all played by people of that background. In fact, according to a friend, many characters on Dora that are supposedly Spanish speakers are voiced/played by white actors. Arg!

Why are three of the anthropomorphic tools "girls"? Well Dusty, the saw, is rather gender neutral. Squeeze, the pliers, has a high pitched voice and eyelashes in some drawings. While the tape measure, Stretch, is able to count well, he is also the color fushia with some purple. This makes him a female, according to my son.

My son and I can talk about why this is not necessarily so. He likes pink, in fact, but it does nothing to the hoards of pink things targeted and consumed by girls. But I digress.

I am not that conflicted, in the end. As a parent who does not allow much media consumption, I have to pick my battles. I am not going out to get a tv. We have to explain so much right now (why did we move, why can't he go to 1st grade with his friend, etc) that I can't really burst his bubble on this show. The tools are constant companions and play things, so much so that they are not seen as toys. We'll see where this goes, how long it lasts, and if I begin to get him thinking critically about the characters.

Critiques of Pop Culture

I need to examine Handy Manny and the media culture with the same scrutiny that I would subject this to:

"Barbie looks like a model, Bratz look like tramps, and Moxie Girlz look like girls." http://bit.ly/17zSz1

Thanks to Karen Wohlwend for that. I think Moxie Girlz look just like Bratz for the record.

Q: Mom, why don't we have a television?

A: We don't think it's that important. And we can watch tv on our computer.

mostly Marcello

family photos

animoto video

Here is a bunch of old family photos, a weird combination of weddings, me acting like a mobster (see older post about my apparent contradictions), and a lot of my brother and I.

remember hope?

There is a vicious targeting of young people (Van Jones and Yosi Sergant) with progressive ideas who are in positions to make some of the change we hope for. It is not clear what is happening with Sergant and his position as director of the National Endowment For the Arts. Sergant was the key grass-roots organizer in the effort to back the Obama campaign with artists like Shepard Fairey who produced the iconic HOPE/CHANGE/PROGRESS posters.

Culture matters. This guy Beck seems to be trying to knock down the grass-roots organizers who have influence and support the agenda of the present administration.

a few pieces from the Huffington Post

I nice political rant about what I have also been pretty melancholic about, especially since my dad is going broke with the cost of treatments for his prostate cancer. My cousin is also recently was diagnosed, and it is about time we get busy and stop letting insurance companies and others treat medicine like business.

It is also about time for another social critique from Michael Moore, and this time it is about WALL STREET and how they got away with murder. So his latest documentary, "Capitalism: A Love Story," sounds like it will be a must see.

fake Italian stuff

Of the 2 sides of my family, my mom's side (Czech) and my dad's side (Italian), I relate more to the Italian side. This is probably because that side had continued contact over the years with our family in Sardinia. I have problems, however, when I go to international potlucks. Yes, I can bring Italian food, but my grandmother died when my dad was 10. The men of the family made wine and olives. So my authentic recipes are ones from my aunt that she learned to do herself in the States.

I did hear lots of stories when I went to Sardinia, and I have heard stories from relatives living in the States. This oral storytelling and acting got handed down somewhat. I would like to think that I have it in my blood. And I do have an uncle that told stories about the mob in Chicago.

I do sort of have a weird relationship with films and mobster romanticization. On a political level I am against the mafia for what it is. In Italy, the mob takes out judges and tries to rule from a dominant position of constant threat. On the other hand, I have to admit that when I saw it, I liked Lena Olin in a movie about her as a mobster. So far, I only felt that way for that movie. Reservoir Dogs was weirdly entertaining too. Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink helped.

recent art

I don't know if I have such a good sonic text tonight, but I will post some recent art. We are Handy Manny all the time here, so those bits about Play and Performance from the Jenkins piece resonate. We do not have a tv, so this obsession started because of exposure to a dancing tool box full of animated tools and then youtube. It matters little to my son if the show is in Spanish, English or Italian.

it's moony outside

Said last night as we exited from our building into the night air.

**This photo is actually the north pole.

So often I almost miss the brilliance of a new word or song that my son likes to say, like the title of this post.

One morning he woke up singing several different refrains of

suco suco suco suco
brano brano brano brano

I've since figured out that it is his version of the phillip glass music that goes with this reamimation of 4 sesame street animation clips edited together. That music must have been something I would have never put together except that the suco part has something to do with the circles. . .


** I did not take this photo but appropriated it from google images of mooniness.

NY street fair